Game crashes; video card needs replacement?

[Fish40]

Originally Posted by AVGWarhawk

If a new rig is out of the question, your base computer that you have will run the game with a videocard. Also, as mentioned, 2 gig of RAM. RAM is very cheap these days as well as a decent vid card. Go no less than a Nvidia 7600 vid card. Also, check your power supply to run the card. I suspect Dell jammed in a 300 watt pile of worn parts.

I recommend Tigerdirect.com for the purchases of these items. Great prices with reviews by users and they are have great sales on the items you need.

I agree about Tigerdirect, as well as Newegg. I've used both with no probs. As for replaceing the PSU on a Dell, you need to be careful. A standard formfactor off the shelf PSU will not fit in the Dell case. At least that's the experience I had with my Dimension 8250. I went here: www.pcpowerandcooling.com They have PSU's that are made especially for Dells. They're not cheap, but they are well made. I've upgraded several things in my Dell, all of which I was told by Dell couldn't be done.

[gimpy117]

Originally Posted by Fish40

I agree about Tigerdirect, as well as Newegg. I've used both with no probs. As for replaceing the PSU on a Dell, you need to be careful. A standard formfactor off the shelf PSU will not fit in the Dell case. At least that's the experience I had with my Dimension 8250. I went here: www.pcpowerandcooling.com They have PSU's that are made especially for Dells. They're not cheap, but they are well made. I've upgraded several things in my Dell, all of which I was told by Dell couldn't be done.

Yes, I agree If your gonna game you need a new PSU!! a cheap board you can get away with if you don't overclock or anything, but when your PSU wonks out and kills your whole PC you'll be sorry (happened to me on an Emachines)

[old_tex]

Isn't the Dell 5150 a laptop computer? If so, you are probably stuck with the video. I don't believe there is any option for adding a video card. If it does not do shading, etc., it will not run SH4. I have a nice wide-screen Toshiba with the same problem. They are not extensable. That is probably the issue here. You will have to get another computer that is capable of expansion. (Other than memory chips). Old_tex

[gimpy117]

I think your right....

it's too bad but he's right....you'll need a whole new computer to play SHIV

[I'm goin' down]

It is a desktop. We are going to take it in to a repariman for evaluation after we see if the drivers need updating. Intel has program that will do that task for us.

Originally Posted by I'm goin' down

It is a desktop. We are going to take it in to a repariman for evaluation after we see if the drivers need updating. Intel has program that will do that task for us.

be very carefull sir, i have never met a repairman yet that didnt want to talk you into buying one part then another promising just one more thing will do it then at the end of the process you spent $1000 and even if it does work when your done, the end result is your still stuck with an old slow computer that barely runs games at decent frame rates. think about it, if you buy parts he makes money installing them so he has his best intrest in mind not yours.

please sir think carefully at the full complete list of everything plus labor costs then consider any old parts you keep can and might fail soon after. if this happens you will be stuck with some parts made only for certain dells making then extremely hard to sell if not worthless.

for $800 to $1000 you can build a completely brand new rig that you can plug your keyboard and monitor into. in march 2008 i built an intel q6600 2.4ghz quad core processor, gigabyte p35 mobo, samsung dvd/cd, 320gb hdd, nvidia 8800gt 512mb video card. 600 watt psu, and centurian aluminum mid tower case all for only $914 including shipping and handling. prices have come down a lot since then so i could probably built it for under $800 now

if you want to try building your own look here for help: http://forums.techpowerup.com/forumdisplay.php?f=61

they will help you select the right equipt in your price range for the type of computer you want. its a good place for help and advice.

if your not ready to build your own then ask that repairman for a price to build you a gaming computer.

[AVGWarhawk]

I would take Websters advise here. My folks took their machine to a tech shop. It disappeared for 3 weeks and then given back, with a charge of course, as banished of all the slow down demons. Yeah, sure...it was the same when they brought it in .


In short, I just purchased a Cyberpower gamer. Phenom 7850 Black Edition quad cores with the new three step cache, 600 watt PS, 4 gig DDR 800, Nvidia 9800GT, Vista 64bit (asus M2N mobo with all kinds of overclocking options) in a gaming case already set up to keep things cool. $925.00 that included shipping.

[Wolfehunter]

Originally Posted by gimpy117

"2 Display: Intel(R) 82945G Exoress Chipset Family"

your running integrated?? or are you on a discrete solution??

If it's integrated check what version direct X you have etc. and also see if your onboard chip set is actually up to the test.

Also go to intel.com to see the latest drivers for the onboard vid card.

Its possible it may not support the game...

http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Prod...=2102&lang=eng

Here you go...